Rogue Community College Board of Education

AP 6502 Campus Space Assignment Procedure

References:

NWCCU 2020 Standard 1.B.3 and 2.I.1 
BP/AP 6500 Property Management
BP 3250 Institutional Planning
AP 6200 Budget Preparation
AP 4020 Program and Curriculum Development

Purpose
The following procedure provides information and instructions to guide space allocation decisions and to ensure the most efficient use of available space, to identify and manage space surplus and deficits, to maintain accurate records of allocated space, and to guide modifications of existing space for the purpose of reassignment. This procedure will ensure that requests are complete and have been evaluated for potential impact to the college’s long-range strategic plans and programs, and have appropriate funding for re-assigned space requiring modifications.

Procedure

A Space Assignment Advisory Committee (SAAC) shall be established to review and make recommendations regarding requests that involve major re-assignments or functional changes in space usage on campus. The SAAC will consist of members representing academic, student support, safety and disability resources, and college support services.

The SAAC will develop a charter which will be submitted to the College Executive Team for review, will report to the Executive Team, and will submit annual reports to the Executive Team. The SAAC will develop criteria for decision-making; they will develop criteria for identifying exigencies which necessitate quick decision-making and allow bypassing the SAAC process; the development of criteria for determining when decisions involving space are not space assignment but are space planning related to capital projects.
The primary duties of the SAAC include:

• Reviewing requests for assignment and re-assignment of physical space on campus.
• Reviewing requests for functional changes to spaces on campus.
• Periodically reviewing overall facility utilization to ensure maximum utilization of assigned spaces.

The number of SAAC members could fluctuate each year but at a minimum will consist of the following:

• Access and Disability Resources Coordinator (or designee)
• Chief Facilities Management Officer (Chair)
• Dean of General Education and Transfer
• Dean of Enrollment Management
• Chief Information Officer
• Director of Risk Management (or designee)
• A member of Faculty (selected by Faculty Senate)
• A member of Classified Staff (selected by Classified Association)
• Dean of Curriculum and Academic Support

The SAAC will meet monthly to review all space requests. Additional meetings may be called by the Chair of the SAAC as needed. Final recommendations from the SAAC will be sent to Executive Team for official College approval.

Requests for space must be made at least three months in advance of the need. Requests requiring renovation of space will require a longer lead time and could require submitting a Campus Space Modification Request form. Please see Campus Modifications: AP6501 for additional information.

Requests are to be submitted by the area making the request. The fillable Space Assignment Request Form has an automated workflow that will route the request to the appropriate Director, Dean, or Vice-President.  Once approval has been granted, the request will be routed to the SAAC. Requestors will be notified by email if a request is not approved.

The SAAC will evaluate all requests, including an audit of currently assigned space to verify that space cannot be identified within the existing assignment. Final recommendations will be submitted to the Executive Team for approval.

Specific criteria to be considered will include:

• Safety and health requirements.
• Is the request consistent with the College Strategic Plan?
• Does the request follow the College’s academic planning principles?
• Functionality/utility/efficiency of space.
• Adjacency or unity of program.
• Accessibility of space.
• Funding availability.
• Urgency of need.

Space Allocation Guiding Principles

The following guiding principles will be used in conjunction with the space allocation process:

1. All space requests will be reviewed on a highest and best practice basis that will support the overall educational mission and strategic priorities of the College’s academic programs and support services as established by the President and within College’s strategic and operational master plans.
2. Every effort will be made to allocate College space equitably.
3. Space allocations are made to administrative and academic divisions, not specific individuals.
4. As a general operating practice, a division or department will not be required to submit a space assignment request in cases where new employees are being assigned to the same space(s) as their predecessors.
5. Repurposing of instructional space for non-instructional use (i.e., converting a classroom to office space) is discouraged and generally should occur only on a last-option basis.
6. All requests for space allocation, reallocation, or change of use must be made in writing to the SAAC using the form and procedures as presented within this document.
7. Activities conducted by the SAAC will be transparent and meeting minutes and status of all requests will be available for review on the FMPC website.
8. Whenever possible, programmatically similar or supporting departments should be located in a proximate or contiguous fashion so as to optimize shared resources and synergies. Similarly, proximity of a department head to her/his supervised staff should be attained whenever possible.
9. Space assignment requests are evaluated, in part, on the basis of the usage patterns and efficiencies of existing space assignments. Space scheduling practices, along with general space usage patterns, will be reviewed periodically by FMPC and the SAAC.
10. Whenever possible, space allocations should meet functional design requirements with the goal of minimizing renovations, alterations and associated expenditures.
11. Whenever entire buildings or sections of buildings are vacated, studies should be conducted on said space to determine reuse capacity, alteration/retrofit costs, and possible best uses.
12. Whenever entire buildings or sections of buildings are vacated, FMPC will recommend methods by which repurposing said space can be proposed, reviewed, and allocated. Corresponding FMPC-generated space allocation, assignment, and repurposing recommendations may include recommendations for resource allocation necessary to conduct associated modifications and renovations to said space.
13. Whenever possible and as a means to efficiently maximize space usage, common use spaces (e.g., conference rooms, meeting rooms, workshops, storage areas) should be shared among departments, especially in areas where departments are proximate in their primary space assignments. Similarly, common use space allocated and scheduled by a department should be made available to other departments when not in use, including conference rooms.
14. Space that is specifically allocated to a department on a time-limited basis shall be vacated and returned to the College as unassigned space at the end of any term.
15. As a general rule, individual faculty members and administrators will not be assigned more than one private office unless as required by multiple department supervisory responsibilities or in conjunction with remote field operations.

Alteration and Renovation of Space

For the purposes of this Administrative Procedure, campus alterations are defined in AP6501 Campus Modifications and include:

1. Remodel Requests
2. Redesign Requests
3. Capital Requests

Requests for alterations to the department’s existing space and that does not change the use of the space is not required to be submitted on a Space Assignment Request Form. These types of requests are to be made via the Campus Modification Request Form (CMR).

Any physical space renovation will be designed and constructed under the direction of the FMPC Department to ensure life safety code compliance, adherence to College’s design standards, universal and local building code compliance. An approved Space Assignment Request Form must accompany the CMR at the time of submission.

The FMPC Department is available to help departments:

• Assess their current space utilization and consider improvements to layout or space assignment.
• Determine if a potential space will fit the department’s needs.
• Identify strategies for sequencing space moves.
• Quantify potential costs of alterations, renovations, etc.

Campus Space/Facility Inventory

The space inventory is the official record of space assignments for the College. The inventory is maintained and updated by the FMPC Department. Periodic audits of space will occur to ensure accuracy of the inventory. Generally, categorization of rooms by primary use and space use codes for the College inventory list will be in accordance with the U.S Department of Education Sciences Postsecondary Education Facilities Inventory and Classification Manual.
It is the responsibility of the FMPC Department to ensure that any changes in physical space are properly recorded in the appropriate College facilities management systems.

Rescinds Procedure/Policy Number: None

Approved:  May 2, 2023